New board member sworn in at North Branch School Board meeting

The vacancy on the North Branch School Board was filled January 9 with the Board appointing Aaron Gibbons. The vote was 3-2 with members Randy Westby and Jay Falk opposed.

Gibbons immediately took his oath of office, administered by Kirby Ekstrom, and took a seat to fill out the six member Board, (see photo.) Gibbons campaigned in the last school board election and his name was submitted for consideration by Board member Linda Heidelberger. For 2014 the School Board agreed Ekstrom should serve as chair, succeeding Kim Salo, who resigned at the end of last month. Tim MacMillan was elected vice-chair and Falk remains clerk. Heidelberger was elected treasurer, an office that was MacMillan’s. The chair receives $750 annually, the vice chair $250 and clerk and treasurer get $150 as a stipend. All Board members get $40 per meeting and $115 for meetings in excess of four hours. This pay rate has been in effect for years. Westby made the motion not to adjust Board pay for 2014 and it passed uanimously.

Superintendent Dr. Deb Henton asked the Board to take an emergency action adopting a district policy revision, that hopefully will help resolve what she said is a “serious shortage” of bus drivers. The vote was 6-0 on the request. Ordinarily, the School Board policy subcommittee will review wording and the Board will get a recommendation and do two “readings.” Henton apologized for the lack of lead time on Policy 499, which relates to classified sub pay, but said the transportation director knows of retired bus drivers who could fill slots fast, if their status as longer-term hirees could be clarified and rate of pay was improved.

Brett Carlson, Community Education and Actvities Director, gave a 2013 report on Community Ed programming. Carlson said 3,000 people came to the popular annual fall Arts Fest, admission is $1 and proceeds went into a scholarship fund. He also said 4,178 people attended one or more class offered through community education. The driver’s education program was absorbed into Community Ed last year and things are going well, Carlson added. Also, a 4 and 5-year-olds’ program (outside of classroom hours) began last year and enrollment is steadily building for this.

North Branch now makes programming and services available to very young people, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., he commented. As reported in this paper December 26-- an organ donor and retired school teacher-recipient of the donated kidney; were recognized by the School Board. Donor Kevin Noyes graduated in the 1980s from NBHS and teacher Marlin Ness is retired from North Branch District. Besides having shared North Branch High School days, the families of Ness and Noyes are personal friends. School Board member Jay Falk also graduated with Noyes, so the recognition interlude was very collegial. Ann Peterson of Donor Services, Hastings MN also spoke briefly about organ donation. Noyes said his experience in the Rose Bowl Parade, New Year’s Day, was “very moving.”

He walked alongside the Donate Life float in Pasadena, with other living donors. He said he and his wife also got to place some of the flowers onto the float’s “floragraphs” celebrating posthumous donors of organs. Noyes held up the front page of the St. Paul Pioneer Press which featured a story and photo of a kidney-shaped snow sculpture, posted with a sign “Need Kidney.” He stressed that organ donation demand continues outpacing supply, and encouraged everybody at the meeting to consider “giving life.” Transplant recipient Ness, who is marking 50 years of living in North Branch, said it was a wonderful, caring district to have worked in adding, “I’m doing just great.”